Envelope machine



Sept. 7, 1937. I

A. NOVICK ENVELOPE MACHINE Filed Nov. 13, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Abraham Nov/ck. +Qa4fii ATTORNEYS Sept. 7, 1937. A. NOVICK ENVELOPE MACHINE Filed NOV. 13, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR Abmfiam Nov/ck.

A TTORNE Y5 Patented Sept. 7, 1931 UNITED STATES ENVELOPE MACHINE Abraham Novick, Flushing, N. Y., assignor .to F. L. Smithe Machine 00., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 13, 1933, Serial No. 697.768

13 Claims.

This invention relates to envelope machines and has for an object the provision of a novel drying conveyor which is adapted to receive envelopes of any usual width and to carry them past a'blower with the gummed margins of the envelopes fully exposed through the conveyor to the action of the blower. feature of the invention that the drying conveyor comprises a pair of parallel chains and a series of equally spacedlparallel cross bars carriedjointly by the chains.

It is a further object of the invention to provide, in combination with a conveyor of the kind referred to, a collating device which is adapted to take individualized envelopes delivered at high speed and to arrange them on the drying conveyor in fanned-out relation with the sealing flap of each envelope directly engaging a cross bar but'with the gummed portion of such sealing flap escaping engagement with the drying con- I veyor altogether.

vation, partly diagrammatic, of a machine embodying features of the invention;

Figure 2 ,is a fragmentary, plan view, partly broken away, illustrating a portion of the mechanism of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary, detail, planview of a portion of the drying conveyor;

Figure 4 is a rear plan View of an envelope of theopen-end type upon which the mechanism of the present invention is especially well adapted to operate; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary, sectional, side elevation of a portion of the drier and the drying conveyor.

The mechanism indicated generally at l constitutes means for forming envelope blanks into envelopes 2 of the kind illustrated in Figure 4. This mechanism may be the same as that illustrated in my pending application Serial No.

671,630, filed May 18, 1933, for Envelope machines. Such mechanism comprises gumming means for the sealing flap 3 to apply a gum patch I thereto. The envelopes 2 leave the cylinder with the sealing flap trailing and with the undried gum patch 4 facing downward. Each envelope is fed between a roller 5 and feeding segments 8 fast on a. shaft 1. The roller 5 and the segments 6 advance the envelope at the same speed at\,which the mechanism I advances it.

To this end it is a.

The envelope travels along guides 8, the leading end of the envelope being delivered between fixed and movable gripper jaws 9 and Ill.

The gripper jaws 9 and I0 constitute elements of a collating device II whereby the spaced out envelopes are delivered to a drying conveyor I2. The collating device acts to rearrange the envelopes in fannedout relation for drying.v The collating device comprises a chain conveyor I3 which carries two'sets of the gripping jaws 9 and Ill. The chain l3 runs upon an idler sprocket l4 and a driven sprocket l5. The idler sprocket I4 is mounted loosely upon a shaft I6 at the discharge end of the collating device while the sprocket I5 is mounted fast upon a driven shaft IT at the introductory end of the collating device. Collars l8 mounted on the shaft l6 serve to open the grippers at the delivery point, while cams l9 mounted on the shaft H but fixed against rotation serve to open the grippers at the receiving station.

The chain [3 is driven at the same average speed as the feeding segment 6 but it is driven variably so that the grippers are travelling relatively slowly at the receiving and delivering stations. This variable drive is effected through the constantly rotating shaft 1 whereby the segment 6 is carried.- The shaft 1 has fast upon it a gear 20 which meshes with a gear 2| fast on a shaft 22. An elliptical gear 23 whichis also fast upon the shaft 22 meshes with a cooperating elliptical gear 24 fast on a shaft 25. The shaft 25 has fast upon it a gear 26 which meshes. with a 1 pinion 21 fast on the shaft H. The effect of the variable speed feeding mechanism described is to cause the grippers when open at the receiving station to travel slowly so that the envelope which is under the control of the roller 5 and the segments 6 gains on the grippers and has its bottom or leading edge in position to be securely gripped when the tail of gripper III snaps off of the high portion of cam 19. The gripper is then quickly accelerated and sweeps the envelope .forward rapidly until the gripper nears the discharge station. The rapid advance of the blank is effective to prevent the gummed sealing flap from dropping down and being dragged along the drying conveyor l2.

In addition to the instrumentalities already described the collating device comprises two sets of ratchet wheels 28 which are fast upon the shaft Hi. The shaft I 6 is driven at a rate such that the teeth of the ratchet wheels 28 advance at the same linear speed as the drying conveyor I2. The leading and of an envelope blank is carried into engagement with vertical walls 29 of ratchet teeth at a time when the gripper controlling such envelope is slowed down substantially to the speed at which the ratchet wheel uniformly.

travels. The envelope is accordingly arrested without being subjected to any sudden blow by the ratchet teeth walls 29. The gripper springs 30 apply only a light pressure to the envelope so that the envelope when intercepted by the ratchet wheels may slip relative to the grippers before the grippers have actually been operated to release the envelope. At about the time when an envelope is brought into engagement with the ratchet tooth shoulders hold-down rollers 3| carried by arms 3|a are swung down to press the envelope against the preceding envelopes and the drying conveyor l2 so that there can be no slipping of the envelope relative to the drying conveyor. Further rollers 32 carried by pivoted arms 33 bear constantly upon the envelopes on the drying conveyor and assist in feeding them. A stop 34 is provided on each arm 33 for limiting downward swinging of the roller 32 when no imvelopes are present. The stops 34 coact with a bracket 35. The bracket 35 also carries a holddown plate 36.

The drying conveyor l2 comprises two parallel upon the drying conveyor by the collating mechanism which has been described. As illustrated in Figure 2, each envelope is delivered with the sealing flap trailing and the gummed side of the sealing flap faced downward, onto the conveyor l2. It is intended that each envelope shall have an ungummed portion of the sealing flap thereof resting directly upon one of thecross bars 4|. Since the collating mechanism arrests and positions the envelopes by engagement with the bottom edges thereof, the desired relation between the sealing flaps and the cross bars will not be automatically secured for different sizes of envelopes. Provision is accordingly made of suitable adjusting means such as set screws 42 whereby sprockets 43 which drive the chains 31 and 33 may be adjusted and fixed relative to their drive shaft 44. The chain conveyors I! run upon a pair of idler end sprockets similar to the sprockets. 43 and upon idlers intermediatesprockets 45 of which only a single pair is illustrated. The conveyor l2 travels in an orbital path and acts to conduct the envelopes in both its outgoing and return stretches in proximity to. a. drier 46 which may be in the form of a blower chest. It will be observed that the gummed portions of the sealing flaps of the envelopes are invariably fully exposed through the conveyor II to the blower. Hold down belts 41 extend around an end roller 48 and beneath an apron or plate 49 adjacent the conveyor II. The apron 43 conforms in contour to the path of the conveyor 13 throughout the outgoing stretch of the conveyor, around the idler end sprockets, and throughout the return stretch of the conveyor to a. point adjacent the sprockets 43. The belts 41 thus act as hold down belts in the upper stretch of the conveyor and as supporting belts along the lower stretch of the conveyor l2. The belts 41 extend beyond the end of the apron 49, being supported upon rollers 50 of which only one is shown. The

belts 41 thus serve to conduct the envelopes away from the conveyor l2 to other instrumentalities of the machine. The belts 41 are turned back around an end roller (not shown), the idle stretch being guided outside the active stretchof any usual width without adjustment.- The only adjustment required, therefore, for adapting the drier to act upon blanks of different sizes is the longitudinal adjustment of the conveyor chains 31 and 38 relative to the collating mechanism.

' It will be observed that cross-bars 4| are positioned slightly below the center line of chain 40. As a result of this the plane of the envelopes carried by the chain is substantially in the center of the chain, 1. e., in line with pitch line of the chain. This arrangement prevents shifting of the envelopes relative to the chain when the envelopes are carried around the sprockets.

'I have described what I believe to be the best embodiments of my invention. I do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodiments shown, but what I desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A drying conveyor for use in an envelope machine of the class which includes means for gumming and folding the side and bottom flaps and means for gumming the sealing flaps of blanks, said drying conveyor comprising a series of parallel cross bars and means for depositing the envelopes on the drying conveyor in fannedout relation with the gummed portions of the sealing flaps exposed toward the cross bars, the

wet margins being exposed to the drying influence of air through the cross-bars.

2. A drying conveyor for use in. an envelope machine of the class which includes sealing flap spaced cross bars and means for arranging gummed envelopes in an overlapped band with the wet gummed margins extended in the plane of the blank on the conveyor at intervals equal in extent to the spaces between cross bars.

4. In an envelope machine, in combination, a

drying conveyor comprising a series of equally spaced cross bars and means for arranging gummed envelopes in an overlapped band with the wet gummed margins extended in the plane of the blank on the conveyor at intervals equal in extent to the spaces between cross bars and in such relation to the conveyor that an ungummed portion of each sealing flap is directly engaged by a single cross bar.

5. In an envelope machine, a drying conveyor, comprising a pair parallel chains spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the widest envelopes, and envelope supporting means adapted to receive blanks with wet margins from gumming mechanism, said last-named means consisting oi a multiplicity of equally spaced cross bars carried jointly by the chains, said cross bars being positioned slightly below the pitch line of the chains so that the blanks carried thereby are substantially in the pitch line of the chains, the wet margins being exposed to the drying influence of air through the cross-bars.

6. In an envelope machine, a drying conveyor,

a distance greater than the width of the widest comprising a pair of parallel chains spaced apart envelopes, and envelope supporting means to receive blanks with wet margins from gumming mechanism, said supporting means consisting of a multiplicity of equally spaced cross bars carried jointly by the chains, and a travelling hold down belt cooperative with said cross bars, acting to hold the wet unsealed margins of said blanks in open position exposed to the drying influence of air through the cross-bars, and acting to hold the partially sealed portions in firm contiguity to aid the adhesive fixation of the gummed areas.

7. In an envelope machine, a drying conveyor comprising a series of equally spaced cross-bars, said cross-bars being positioned slightly below the pitch line of said conveyor, and means for arranging gummed envelopes on the conveyor in an overlapping band with the plane of said envelopes substantially in the pitch line of said conveyor.

8. In a drying-conveyor for machines having instrumentalities for applying wet coatings to margins of blanks, a pair of parallel chains spaced apart a distance greater than the widths of the widest blanks and blank supporting means consisting of a multiplicity of spaced cross members carried jointly by the chains and means for depositing the coated blanks in an overlapped band on said conveyor with the wet margins exposed toward the conveyor.

9. In a drying conveyor for machines having instrumentalities for applying wet coatings to margins of blanks, a pair of parallel chains spaced .apart a distance greater than the widths of the widest blanks and blank supporting means consisting o! a multiplicity of spaced cross members carried jointly by the chains and means for depositing the coated blanks in an overlapped band Patent No. 2,092,015.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION ABRAHAM NOVICK.

on said conveyor with the wet margins exposed toward the conveyor, said cross members being positioned slightly below the pitch line of the chains so that the blanks carried thereby are substantially' in the pitch line of the chains.

10. A drying conveyor for blanks, comprising a pair of parallel chains spaced apart wider than the widest blank, cross members carried by said chains and positioned slightly below the pitch line thereof so that the blanks laid on said members travel substantially in the pitch line of the chains and a conveyor for running in clamping engagement with said cross members for holding said blanks against the cross members.

11. A drying conveyor for blanks, comprising a pair of parallel chains spaced .apart wider than A the widest blank, cross members carried by said chains and positioned slightly below the pitch line thereof so that the blanks laid on said members travel substantially in the pitch,line of the chains and a conveyor for running in clamping engagement with said cross members for holding said blanks against the cross members, and means for laying said blanks in overlapping relation on the conveyor with the wet margins thereof exposed toward the cross members. V

12. In a machine for coating margins of blanks, a drying conveyor for the wet blanks, said conveyor comprising a series of spaced crosswise members having small blank engaging surfaces, means for depositing the blanks with their wet margins in overlapping relation on said cross members with said wet margins exposed toward freshly stuck seams therein, a drying conveyor comprising a series 01' cross members, means for depositing the blanks in an overlapping band on said cross members with the wet margins thereof exposed to the drying influence ofair through the cross members, and means for holding said overlapping band in engagement with said cross mem-' bers so as to prevent said seams, from opening during their passage on said conveyor.

Anaemia uovrcm 4 ep m 7, 195.7 g

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification I of the above nuinbered patentrequiring correction as follows: Page 3 first column, line 17; claim the width of the widest". and insert thesame after "apart" and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction claim;

line '18 same' therein that thesame may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office. I

Signed and sealed (Seal) this 12th day or October, A. ,1 1957.

Henry Van Arsdale. doting Commissioner of Patents.

portion of each sealing flap is directly engaged by a single cross bar.

5. In an envelope machine, a drying conveyor, comprising a pair parallel chains spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the widest envelopes, and envelope supporting means adapted to receive blanks with wet margins from gumming mechanism, said last-named means consisting oi a multiplicity of equally spaced cross bars carried jointly by the chains, said cross bars being positioned slightly below the pitch line of the chains so that the blanks carried thereby are substantially in the pitch line of the chains, the wet margins being exposed to the drying influence of air through the cross-bars.

6. In an envelope machine, a drying conveyor,

a distance greater than the width of the widest comprising a pair of parallel chains spaced apart envelopes, and envelope supporting means to receive blanks with wet margins from gumming mechanism, said supporting means consisting of a multiplicity of equally spaced cross bars carried jointly by the chains, and a travelling hold down belt cooperative with said cross bars, acting to hold the wet unsealed margins of said blanks in open position exposed to the drying influence of air through the cross-bars, and acting to hold the partially sealed portions in firm contiguity to aid the adhesive fixation of the gummed areas.

7. In an envelope machine, a drying conveyor comprising a series of equally spaced cross-bars, said cross-bars being positioned slightly below the pitch line of said conveyor, and means for arranging gummed envelopes on the conveyor in an overlapping band with the plane of said envelopes substantially in the pitch line of said conveyor.

8. In a drying-conveyor for machines having instrumentalities for applying wet coatings to margins of blanks, a pair of parallel chains spaced apart a distance greater than the widths of the widest blanks and blank supporting means consisting of a multiplicity of spaced cross members carried jointly by the chains and means for depositing the coated blanks in an overlapped band on said conveyor with the wet margins exposed toward the conveyor.

9. In a drying conveyor for machines having instrumentalities for applying wet coatings to margins of blanks, a pair of parallel chains spaced .apart a distance greater than the widths of the widest blanks and blank supporting means consisting o! a multiplicity of spaced cross members carried jointly by the chains and means for depositing the coated blanks in an overlapped band Patent No. 2,092,015.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION ABRAHAM NOVICK.

on said conveyor with the wet margins exposed toward the conveyor, said cross members being positioned slightly below the pitch line of the chains so that the blanks carried thereby are substantially' in the pitch line of the chains.

10. A drying conveyor for blanks, comprising a pair of parallel chains spaced apart wider than the widest blank, cross members carried by said chains and positioned slightly below the pitch line thereof so that the blanks laid on said members travel substantially in the pitch line of the chains and a conveyor for running in clamping engagement with said cross members for holding said blanks against the cross members.

11. A drying conveyor for blanks, comprising a pair of parallel chains spaced .apart wider than A the widest blank, cross members carried by said chains and positioned slightly below the pitch line thereof so that the blanks laid on said members travel substantially in the pitch,line of the chains and a conveyor for running in clamping engagement with said cross members for holding said blanks against the cross members, and means for laying said blanks in overlapping relation on the conveyor with the wet margins thereof exposed toward the cross members. V

12. In a machine for coating margins of blanks, a drying conveyor for the wet blanks, said conveyor comprising a series of spaced crosswise members having small blank engaging surfaces, means for depositing the blanks with their wet margins in overlapping relation on said cross members with said wet margins exposed toward freshly stuck seams therein, a drying conveyor comprising a series 01' cross members, means for depositing the blanks in an overlapping band on said cross members with the wet margins thereof exposed to the drying influence ofair through the cross members, and means for holding said overlapping band in engagement with said cross mem-' bers so as to prevent said seams, from opening during their passage on said conveyor.

Anaemia uovrcm 4 ep m 7, 195.7 g

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification I of the above nuinbered patentrequiring correction as follows: Page 3 first column, line 17; claim the width of the widest". and insert thesame after "apart" and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction claim;

line '18 same' therein that thesame may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office. I

Signed and sealed (Seal) this 12th day or October, A. ,1 1957.

Henry Van Arsdale. doting Commissioner of Patents. 

